The Day that Changed us All
by GraydonGirl
Summary: Lucas and Nathan are tired of the constant bickering so they lock Brooke, Peyton, Haley and Rachel in the change room after school. Secrets will be revealed but will the friendships they once had get stronger or will they just fall to pieces? 5shot
1. Chapter 1

**The Day that Changed us All**

**Not sure when it's set. Based on an episode of 'popular' I saw before, and partly on the scarlet letter. I don't really know what the purpose of this thing is, I just started writing and couldn't stop.**

Summary: Lucas and Nathan are tired of their constant bickering, so they lock Brooke, Peyton, Haley and Rachel in the change room after school. Secrets will be revealed but will the relationships they once had get stronger or will they just all fall to pieces?

**Chapter 1**

Brooke's POV:

We came to school that day, most of us sworn enemies for various reasons. I hated Peyton because she loved Lucas, who I am not currently dating anymore. Peyton hated Haley because she left Nathan to go on tour. Haley hated Rachel… well because she got her fired from the tutor centre and all. And Rachel? She hated Peyton, because I hated Peyton. Did I mention that Rachel and I are dating? That's right… Haley knows, she kind of walked in on us one day. I don't remember a lot about that day, it was just one big blur, one big LOUD blur. Ever since that day it's been weird. Haley's been kind of nicer to Rachel. We all know it's because Rachel's dating me and Haley's trying to be cool with it. But anyways, back to the story. It wall started in our fifth period class; English. We walked into school that day, most of us enemies, but we walked out as something different.

No POV:

'_You look hot_' Brooke read off of a note Rachel had passed her in class. She smiled and wrote something dirty down on the note and was about to pass it back to her when the English teacher came up from behind her, took the note and crumpled it up.

"thank you ladies, I'll see you in detention after school" Mrs. Townsend said to Brooke and Rachel. "as I was saying… the story 'The Scarlet Letter' is about how a young woman, Hester Prynne, is led from the town prison with her daughter in her arms and the scarlet letter "A" on her breast. The scarlet letter "A" represents the act of adultery that she has committed and it is to be a symbol of her sin – a badge of shame – for all to see."

At the back of the class room Haley was trying to talk to Peyton.

"come on Peyt, stop being so mean"

"stop trying to talk to me" Peyton said back.

"ladies, I guess I'll see you in detention too" the teacher said to Haley and Peyton.

"aww come on" Brooke cried from the front of the class room.

"what was that Miss. Davis?"

"nothing" Brooke said meekly.

"coward" Peyton scoffed loud enough for the whole class to hear.

"what did you call her?" Rachel asked in anger. Both her and Brooke were pissed now.

"shut up Rachel, it's none of your business" Haley said, standing up for Peyton.

"shut up Haley, I don't need your help" Peyton growled.

"leave her alone you bitch!" Brooke said as she stood up and started walking towards Peyton with Rachel in tow. Peyton, never being able to back down from a fight, stood up and walked over to Brooke too.

"what did you call me?!" Peyton asked, now with Haley behind her.

"I called you a lying, skeeving, back stabbing, cold hearted, BITCH!" Brooke said matter of factly. Peyton was about to take a swing at Brooke when the teacher cut in.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Ms. Townsend yelled. "all of you sit down and I'll speak to you after class." The girls gave each other one last cold stare and sat down in their seats.

As soon as the bell rang the four girls remained seated, still heated from their fight. Once the class room cleared out the teacher slammed the door shut gaining the attention of all four girls. It was evident the teacher was also mad.

"ladies, I have no clue what your fight was about, but this is ridiculous, every day you fight and I'm getting tired of it. What is going on between you?" she asked. No one said a word, until Haley had enough of the silence.

"we're all having problems with relationships or some sort of drama right now"

"which is?"

"…" this time Haley kept her mouth shut.

"okay, do you remember how I was talking about the scarlet letter in class today?" Ms. Townsend asked, the girls nodded their heads in silence. "okay well, I want each girl to write down what they are most guilty about and the scarlet letter that represents it. It doesn't have to be what ever drama is going on between you, but something that no one else knows. Once you write it down you will fold it up and throw it away in the trash. No one will read it and no one will know about it, including me."

"what's the point of it then?" Brooke asked.

"the point is you girls have so much drama and anger in your lives, you need to let out some sort of frustration and get it off your chest. This way it will help you deal with what ever is going on in your lives and maybe… maybe it just might calm you down."

The girls didn't care much for the assignment, but knew that if they wanted to get out they had to do the assignment and get it over with.

"how do you know if we actually wrote something?" Peyton asked from her spot at the back of the back of the class room.

"I'm going to have to trust you to write something down" the teacher responded.

"and no one at all is going to read any of them?" Haley asked.

"nope" she responded.

The teacher handed out small sheets of paper for all of the girls to write what ever they wanted down. The girls dropped the folded sheets of paper into the trash on the way out and headed off to cheerleading practice.

At practice Brooke had insisted they work extra hard for the upcoming competition so she forced all of the girls on the squad to stay extra late. It was 5:45 when all the girls finally went to the change room to get out of their sweaty Tree Hill sweat suit. It made them sweat even more because they contained long track pants and a blue, long sleeved Ravens sweater.

In the change room…

Brooke and Rachel had left practice a few minutes early and gone to the change room for a little… privacy.

Brooke was sitting on Rachel's lap enjoying their time alone and making out. "I love being able to kiss you" Rachel said in between kisses.

"mmm, me too" Brooke said. "I just wish we didn't have to hide it"

"what ever, sneaking around makes it hotter anyways" Rachel said as she broke the kiss from Brooke and started working on her neck. Brooke put her hands around Rachel's head to keep her where she was. All of a sudden a noise of giggles and female voices came from the small hallway leading into the change room. Basically the change room consisted of a small room/hall with 2 bathroom stalls in it, which lead to a much larger square room where the girls would actually change. As soon as Brooke and Rachel heard the door open Brooke jumped off of Rachel and went to where all of her clothes were.

"hey there you guys are" Bevin said walking in with a few of her cheerleading friends plus Haley and Peyton, who were also on the squad.

"yeah, we just wanted to get out of here a little early" Brooke said innocently as she continued too change. As Brooke unzipped her sweater to reveal only a bra, Rachel couldn't help but stare at Brooke and how hot she looked. Her dirty thoughts were interrupted by a shoe flying at her. Rachel looked down at the shoe angrily and then looked up to see Haley looking back at her. Rachel was lucky it was only Haley who caught her. Peyton looked around and saw Haley's shoe in front of Rachel. Peyton just scoffed, she didn't really like Rachel anymore than Haley did.

"what are you laughing at blondie?" Rachel asked coldly, making the other girls in the change room turn around.

"nothing… obviously" Peyton said as she turned around and continued to change, but stopped when she felt something hit her in the back. She turned around to see Haley's shoe in front of her and Rachel had continued changing like nothing happened.

"are you serious?" Peyton asked looking at Rachel.

"oh what are you talking about?" Rachel asked fakely.

Peyton shook it off "slut" she murmured.

"what did you call me?" Rachel shot back. Peyton just ignored her.

"Rachel just leave it, she's not even worth it" Brooke said.

"stay out of this Brooke" Peyton said.

"Peyton…" Haley said trying to calm her down.

"no! don't talk to me" Peyton said flipping out on Haley.

"leave her alone, she didn't do anything!" Brooke said to Peyton. The other cheer leaders in the room had finished changing by now and quickly exited the room not wanting to see what was about to happen next. The only people left in the change room was Brooke, Rachel, Haley and Peyton.

Outside of the room Lucas and Nathan were waiting for their friends to come out, they saw everyone else come out but the 4 girls.

"hey Bevin, where are they?" Lucas asked Bevin before she could leave.

"still in there, last I saw Peyton and Rachel were about to go at it" Bevin said as she smiled and walked away. Lucas looked at Nathan and then poked his head in the door.

"hey you girls coming out?" Lucas asked. He waited for a response but only heard more yelling and fighting from inside.

"what do we do?" Nathan asked his brother.

"I have an idea, do you still have those keys from the party after the shooting?" Lucas asked.

"yeah sure, who would give up a master key to the school?" Nathan asked as he pulled out his keys from his pocket. He handed them to Lucas who quickly locked the door to the change room.

"are you sure you know what you're doing?" Nathan asked taking his keys back from Luke. "a few hours together will force them to work out their problems, plus we'll come back later to get them out"

Inside the change room…

"would you two just drop it?!" Haley asked a bickering Peyton and Rachel.

"why are you defending her?" Peyton asked Haley.

"I'm not… it's just would you two just stop fighting?"

"it's not my fault she's such a bitch" Peyton spat out.

"Peyton, shut up!" Brooke yelled.

"excuse me?"

"you heard me, will you just stop talking for once, your mouth has caused enough problems as it is" Brooke said. Rachel and Haley both turned around and continued with what they were doing pretending they didn't hear what Brooke just said.

"Brooke how many times have I told you I AM SORRY, I'm not in love with Lucas anymore, there is no other way to say it… when will you understand that I truly am sorry?"

"when you mean it" Brooke hissed.

"come on Brooke let's get out of here" Rachel said pulling her towards the door.

"yeah just leave. When a problem comes up you just walk away, good job!" Peyton said sarcastically. Brooke was about to turn around when Rachel just kept pushing her towards the door. They were so angry that they didn't even change, Brooke just put her sweater back on and the girls walked out just as they walked in.

"why do you two always have to get into a fight?" Haley asked.

"stay out of this Miss leaving town for Chris Keller" Peyton said as she gathered her stuff in her bag.

"Peyton…" Haley tried to reason.

"what ever, I'm leaving" Peyton said as she too was still in her sweat suit.

She was about to leave when she saw Rachel and Brooke walk back through the second door way.

"think again, the door's locked" Brooke said.

"what do you mean it's locked?!" Haley asked. Haley and Peyton instantly ran for the door. Haley got their first and started twisting and pulling the door knob, but no luck.

"move" Peyton said as she tried the door knob as well. Rachel and Brooke had been standing behind them.

"it's no use, it's locked" Rachel said. Instantly Haley and Peyton started banging on the door for help.

"it's almost 6:00pm, everyone's gone home" Brooke said.

"you just had to have a long practice didn't you?" Peyton asked annoyed.

"don't blame her for this" Rachel said.

"why are you always sticking up for her? What are you girlfriend or something?" Peyton asked as she pushed passed them and back to the large change room. Brooke, Rachel and Haley all stood there staring at each other, knowing that what Peyton said was true, even though she didn't even know it. After sharing an awkward moment all three girls walked back into the change room to find Peyton taking out her cell phone.

"please tell me you guys get service in here" Peyton said flipping her phone closed. Rachel, Brooke and Haley pulled their cell phones out of their pockets.

"no signal" Brooke said.

"same" Rachel said.

"ditto" Haley sighed.

"so we're stuck here until tomorrow?" Peyton asked angrily.

"I guess so" Haley said.

"perfect, just perfect!" Peyton shouted sarcastically.

"why? Did you have a date with _Lucas_?" Brooke spat out.

"no" Peyton said. "not that it's any of your business… you hate me" Peyton said.

"you're right… I do hate you" Brooke said as she and Rachel took a seat on the opposite side of the room from Peyton.

Peyton just turned her iPod on and lay down on the bench and closed her eyes. Rachel and Brooke started talking to each other while Haley went over to Peyton, she stood beside her and waited for her to notice.

"it's kind of hard to relax when someone is staring at you" Peyton said as she opened her eyes to see Haley staring back at her.

"since we're going to be stuck in here for a while I was thinking maybe we could talk?" Haley said.

"ohhh" Peyton said understandingly. "no" she shot.

"why not Peyton? We used to be such great friends and now you're all angry at me. Please just tell me how we can be friends again"

Peyton sat up and took the head phones out of her ears. "you want to know how we can be friends again? Okay Haley, you can build your self a little time machine and go back in time and when Chris Keller asks you to leave on tour with him you say no. That's when we can be friends again" Peyton said as she lay back down and put her head phones back on. Haley sighed and took her seat beside Peyton but didn't talk.

_With Rachel and Brooke…_

"you know, I always thought being locked in a room would be a lot hotter" Rachel said slyly.

"yeah well, so did I, and I never pictured Peyton and Haley in here with us"

"too bad, that dream would have been even hotter" Rachel said. Brooke smiled at her dirty thinking girlfriend. "do you know how hard it is not to kiss you right now?"

"I know, and if Peyton wasn't here we wouldn't have had a problem with hiding anything" Brooke said. "why does she have to be such a bitch sometimes? I mean it's not like I'm the one who was secretly dating her boyfriend behind her back."

"well now you don't have to worry, cause you're dating me now" Rachel said trying to get off the subject of Peyton.

"yeah, unless Peyton wants to steal you too" Brooke said not catching the hint. Rachel just sighed and took her attention away from Brooke.

"Peyton, can we please just talk this out?" Haley asked.

"no" Peyton replied plainly. Haley, fed up of being ignored by Peyton took the iPod out of her hand and disconnected her headphones.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Peyton asked, she really loves her music. Peyton got up and tried to get her iPod back but before she could do anything Haley but the iPod down her pants. As soon as Peyton saw that she stopped trying to get it.

"hey, this reminds me of our first date and your cell phone" Rachel whispered to Brooke earning herself a slap in the arm from Brooke.

"you know what? Keep it, I don't want it back now" Peyton said as she sat down in a huff. After a while Rachel and Brooke stopped talking because Haley and Peyton stopped talking, if Brooke and Rachel started talking Peyton and Haley would have been able to hear them.

"I'm bored" Rachel spoke up.

"me too" Brooke added.

"no one cares" Peyton said without opening her eyes.

"I've got an idea" Rachel spoke up again. "well see, after school I realized I left my phone in English class, so I went back to get it but on the way out I picked something else up."

"you didn't" Haley said.

"oh I did" Rachel said as she pulled out four pieces of paper.

"you stole them!?" Peyton asked in anger.

"the trash is no longer your property once you throw it out" Rachel said matter of factly. "what do you say we try and figure out who wrote what?"

"no" Haley and Peyton replied together. Brooke was going to say no, until she saw Peyton protest so much.

"why Peyton, got something to hide? Did you stab Haley in the back too?"

"shut up Brooke, it's none of your business"

"open them up Rachel" Brooke said fully staring at Peyton now, she just wanted to open them to piss Peyton off. Rachel got up and taped them each to the wall and read them out loud.

"_number 1:H- I slept with my best friend_" Rachel said and put it up on the wall. Before she continued she stopped to think. She hadn't written this one, but then she thought about Brooke and Peyton, they were best friends Brooke at the moment was bisexual. Maybe there was something else that was causing all of Brooke's anger. Everyone in the room acted surprised, including the person who actually wrote it. No one wanted to be caught. Rachel started putting up the second one as she read it out loud.

"_number 2:B- I'm in love with someone who I shouldn't be" _Rachel said. The truth is, number 2 could have been any of them, Rachel and Brooke were dating, so either of them could have said it. Peyton could be in love with Lucas or even someone, and Haley could be in love with someone besides Nathan… it was all up in the air. _"number 3:F- I wish I wasn't me_" Rachel said. Once again, it could have been anyone unhappy with their life, and in someway, they were all unhappy.

Rachel unfolded the final piece of paper and read it to her self before reading it out loud.

"what does it say Rachel?" Brooke asked. At this moment Rachel realized these sheets of paper contained things that she maybe shouldn't have read… especially the last one.

"_number 4…S- I've tried to kill myself_" Rachel said slowly, yet sadly.

"oh my god" Haley whispered. At this point they _all_ realized that they had just entered something that wouldn't turn out good. All of these notes were all more serious than any one of them had realized.

"maybe we shouldn't do this" Brooke said trying to back out.

"no, it's too late, they're out in the open. If we don't figure them out now, everything's just going to get worse" Peyton said being rational. No one wanted to believer her, but they all knew she was right. If they didn't figure out who did what the secrets would eventually come out in the school and it would all be nothing but guessing and ruin more relationships.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"so does anyone want to step up and confess?" Rachel asked, but no one moved a muscle. "didn't think so…"

"so then what do we do?" Peyton asked.

"let's deal with the most serious one first… 'S - I've tried to kill myself'?" Haley asked everyone in the room. "who ever is doing this _needs_ to step up. I can't believe someone in this room has even attempted it."

"how do we know it's not you?" Peyton asked Haley.

"because I'm the one who said we should deal with it. Why would I be saying all of this stuff it were me?"

"maybe you're just trying to cover up for yourself" Rachel started. "maybe you're just so unhappy with your life you want to end it"

"that's ridiculous" Haley said.

"is it?" Rachel asked.

"please, do I look like I've tried to kill myself?"

"none of us do, but someone has tried." Peyton said.

"what about you?" Rachel asked Peyton. "you had that whole drug thing going on before, not to mention you have the whole 2 deceased moms thing going on"

"Rachel, don't go there" Haley said.

"no, go ahead, I want to know what you think" Peyton said a little angry, but trying to make it look like she was calm.

"well I'm just saying, even though I've never lost a parent I can imagine it's hard for you, and maybe you just don't want to be here anymore… maybe you don't want to exist anymore"

"please, I'm not stupid enough to try that" Peyton said. "plus, I doubt I could even bring myself to even try it"

"well we don't know that" Rachel said as she glanced over at Brooke. She had been quiet for a while now… Rachel thought the whole idea of suicide was probably scary for Brooke. But it couldn't have been her, she was with Rachel and she was happy.

"_we…_ right." Peyton reminded herself. "since when have you two been so close anyways?"

"well ever since my best friend stabbed me in the back, I've searched for someone else" Brooke finally spoke up. Peyton eyed them suspiciously but let it go.

"okay this is getting old now… would someone just speak up so we can talk about this? This is really serious, and I'm willing to put any and all anger aside if this person would just speak up." Peyton offered. But once again there was silence. Rachel looked over to Brooke again and saw that she wasn't even looking back at her, she knew Rachel was staring at her, but couldn't look up. Soon Rachel became suspicious. If it was true, she couldn't take any chances. Rachel nudged Brooke and caught her attention, and stared into her eyes. She was a little nervous, which made Rachel really nervous. Rachel continued to stare into Brooke's eyes search for an answer, and Brooke kept trying to tear her eyes away but couldn't. Then Brooke did something to change it all. She gripped the ends of her sleeves with the tips of her fingers, pulling the sleeves down by less than an inch.

Rachel instantly stood up when she saw it. "please don't tell me…" Rachel whispered. Brooke sub-consciously gripped the end of her sleeves tighter.

"what?" Peyton asked. Rachel took a step closer to Brooke and grabbed her arm. Brooke tried tearing her arm away, but Rachel had a good grip on it.

"stop!" Brooke said quietly as she started to cry. Rachel ignored the tears and continued with what she was doing. She forced Brooke against the wall and grabbed her arm. She pushed the sleeve up aggressively and saw something she would have never expected. Half way up Brooke arm there were several scars. Some deep than others, but most of them pretty close to her wrist.

"it's you…" Rachel whispered as Haley and Peyton rushed over to Brooke as well. Brooke pushed her sleeve back down and started crying even harder. "it's you…" Rachel repeated. "you've tried to kill yourself?" she asked in disbelief. Brooke didn't say anything, she just folded her arms and sat back down, still crying.

"Brooke…" Peyton said trying to comfort her. As promised she disregarded all of her anger to help her friend.

"get off me!" Brooke snapped.

"why did you do this Brooke?" Peyton asked softly.

"you want to know why I did this!?" Brooke yelled. "it's because of you, Peyton. You and Lucas. I loved him! I really loved him, I had never felt that way about anyone, and then out of no where you, you secretly date him behind my back. And I gave you a second chance, Peyton, and you blew it. You told me you had feelings for him and it hurt so much when you said that… so much that I…"

"you tried to kill your self?" Peyton finished the sentence. "Brooke I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, if I knew any of this would have happened I wouldn't have even said a word"

"but you did, and it hurt me so much. I cared about you and Lucas more than anyone else in the world, and when I lost you both I just couldn't take it. It… it just hurt so badly, I had to escape." Brooke said with tears streaming down her face as she fell into Peyton's arms to hug her. Peyton was crying just as much as Brooke was now, Haley even had some tears in her eyes. Rachel was sitting down a few feet away from Brooke, trying not to look at any of them.

"Brooke, I'm sorry for everything" Peyton whispered into Brooke's ear. "I love you B. Davis" Peyton said hoping that she would hear her nickname too. If she could just hear that nick name she knew everything would be okay.

"I love you too… P. Sawyer" Brooke whispered. Brooke and Peyton finally pulled apart, Brooke looked over at Rachel who was staring blankly into the air.

"Rachel?" Brooke asked. Rachel came back to reality, but instead of looking back at Brooke she just stared at the floor. "Rachel" Brooke said again. She knew Rachel wasn't happy.

"I can't believe this" Rachel said. Brooke sat down next to her, while Peyton and Haley sat down a few feet away from them, but watching.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I didn't tell anyone, I couldn't…" Brooke said.

"that's not even it…" Rachel said.

"then what is?"

"it's the fact that even though you and I were together you still felt like you didn't want to live. It means that I don't make you happy"

"what? No" Brooke said. "of course you make me happy"

"Rachel, you're her friend" Peyton said. "and from what I've seen lately you guys are pretty close, even I could tell Brooke was happy"

"you still don't get it, do you?" Rachel asked Peyton.

"get what?"

"I'm not just Brooke's friend… we're dating!" Rachel said turning her attention back to Brooke. "dating... And if I can't make you happy when we're dating – happy enough to live – then maybe we don't belong together"

"what are you saying?" Brooke asked.

"I'm saying that someone out there can make you happy, because it obviously isn't me."

"you're breaking up with me?" Brooke asked sadly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"you're breaking up with me?" Brooke asked sadly.

"yeah, look I know now is a really bad time to do it considering the information just revealed and the fact that we're locked in a change room, but it just has to be done" Rachel said. Brooke looked at her and got up and walked to the other side of the room to sit down. She wasn't sure how to feel, but knew she couldn't look at Rachel right now.

"as awkward and painful as this is, we have to finish the other secrets… it's only fair" Rachel said.

"alright, let's do number 3" Haley said. Rachel reached the paper from where she was sitting and re-read it. "F - I wish I wasn't me" Rachel said looking up at the other two girls who hadn't yet revealed their secrets.

"not me" all three girls said at once. Brooke looked up with no emotion, she wasn't happy, sad or angry, she was just neutral.

"I know who it is" Brooke spoke up. "it's pretty clear"

"really then who is it?" Peyton asked. "'cause I know it's not you, and I know it's not me" she said being honest with herself.

"think about it" Brooke said.

"okay well… Haley, I can kind of understand if she wouldn't want to be her…" Peyton said acting like she was just talking to Brooke.

"oh and how is that Peyton?" Haley asked bitterly.

"because you cheated on Nathan and you feel guilty for it." Peyton bitterly said back.

"try again" Brooke said staring at Rachel.

"it's you then huh?" Peyton said looking over at Rachel who was looking up to hold her tears back.

"why?" Haley asked.

"I guess I should start by saying I envy you, Brooke." Rachel said making everyone look at Brooke to see her reaction. Brooke's eyes squinted a little, but she wasn't angry. "if you look at me, you see some hot looking cheerleader with big boobs and willing to sleep with anything that moves. I've had plastic surgery over and over, I could be a model with my looks… but I'm not happy."

"I don't get it, why do you envy Brooke then?" Peyton asked.

"do you know why Brooke?" Rachel asked.

"yeah…" Brooke replied sadly. "… I get it"

"can you tell us then?" Haley said getting a little impatient.

"you guys are blind…" Rachel said.

"don't you get it?" Brooke asked Peyton and Haley, while looking at Rachel. "she's me… 2 years ago"

"she's right" Rachel said with a fake smile. "I'm her." She plainly stated.

"I still don't get it" Haley said. Rachel just scoffed.

"no, I get it" Peyton said standing up and walking into the middle of the room. "Rachel's who Brooke used to be. No offense Brooke, but she used to sleep around with guys just for the sex. She was the popular girl in school, pretty, played dumb, and superficial" Peyton said looking back and forth between Brooke and Rachel. "and she envies her … because Brooke changed."

"that's right" Rachel said. "and it doesn't matter how hard I try because _I _can't."

"now I'm lost" Peyton said sitting back down.

"I get it" Haley said standing up taking Peyton's place in the middle of the room. "Rachel can't change because… it's not who she is. Brooke acted different from the person who she was on the inside two years ago, but she got tired of being that person. So she showed everyone who she really was, and she was accepted. But Rachel…Rachel can't act like that person because she isn't covering anything. She is who she is, inside and out."

"I don't have a person to change into. That's the worst part, I was born a bitch and I will forever be a bitch… _that's why I don't want to be me_"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"wow" Haley and Peyton whispered at the same time.

"so with that being said… that leaves 2" Rachel said taking one down off the wall and reading it out loud. "I'm in love with someone I shouldn't be"

Peyton and Haley looked at each other. At this point there were only two secrets left which meant both girls knew each other's secret.

"one of you is in love with someone they shouldn't be… what ever that means. And the other slept with their best friend… Interesting" Brooke said.

"okay well this is obvious… Haley's in love with Chris Keller and Brooke and Peyton slept together" Rachel stated like it was nothing. Brooke started laughing quietly.

"this is one fucked up night" Brooke said looking up at the ceiling.

"what?"

"Peyton and I have never slept with each other… trust me, I would have remembered. It's obvious that Peyton is in love with Luke, and Haley slept with him"

"what? Haley and Lucas?!" Rachel asked in disbelief, making Haley blush a deep red. "never would have guessed."

"do you want to go first or should I?" Haley asked Peyton. Peyton motioned for Haley to take the centre of the change room, which she did.

"H- I slept with my best friend." Rachel repeated the note. "I thought you were all about the 'no sex before marriage' rule" Rachel said.

"I am… sort of" Haley said as she stood with her arms by her side in the middle of the change room. She was never good with people judging her, or being placed on a pedestal.

"please don't tell me this happened when I was dating Luke. One friend hooking up with my boyfriend was enough." Brooke said from the corner of the room. She had her legs up on the bench, knees near her chest, and her head back up against the wall, slightly tilted to see all of the girls.

"no" Haley said. "it was back before Lucas joined the basketball team"

"you had sex when you were 16?" Peyton asked.

"it was a one time thing, that happened by accident" Haley said.

"how do you accidentally sleep with someone?" Rachel asked no one in particular. "did he _slip_?"

"okay, ew, no!" Haley said trying to get that image out of her head. "we crashed a Brooke Davis party for some reason and we got a little drunk. We went back to the café to get some coffee to sober up a little, but one thing lead to another and we started kissing. The kissing lead to the touching and the touching lead to… well yeah…" Haley said.

"so then what? You guys have never brought it up again?" Brooke asked.

"nope, we vowed to keep it a secret"

"so then why did you write it down as your biggest guilt?" Peyton asked.

"because when I wrote that down I was proving to myself that I don't regret leaving to go on tour."

"so you don't regret leaving your husband for another man?" Peyton asked, the bitterness creeping into her voice.

"I didn't leave Nathan for another man. Chris was just there, we weren't anything. I left to follow my dreams. Everyone was saying how it was wrong for me to go off and go on tour with Chris. _But it was not my biggest regret_" Haley said with quite a bit of anger. "my biggest regret was sleeping with Lucas because it was stupid and wrong and it had no purpose. If anything it made our friendship awkward for a long time. But singing… was something for _me_. I was just tired of being that person everyone counted on for everything. I was always a safe person. All I wanted was something for me… was that so bad?"

Haley looked around the room to see everyone was just looking back at her, but no one was saying anything.

"Hales?" Peyton asked, using her nick names – that was a good sign. Haley looked over at Peyton. "I'm sorry" she whispered. "I've been pretty hard on you lately and it's all just been chaos lately. I didn't mean to make you feel like the safe person before. I was just looking out for Nathan"

"and I thank you for that. You're a really good friend"

"so wait, am I the only one who hasn't slept with Lucas then?" Rachel asked interrupting their nice moment.

"I haven't slept with Lucas" Peyton objected.

"good… I hate being out of the loop. But since we're on the topic of you… you're the last secret. B- You are in love with someone you shouldn't be. And I think we all know who it is" Rachel said. Peyton looked over at Brooke, they all knew who it was, it wasn't that big of a secret. Even though Peyton said she didn't love him, she really did.

"Rachel? Hales? Do you guys mind giving us a moment?" Peyton asked as she stared at Brooke. The two girls got up and walked to the other room of the change room. Peyton got up and sat down in front of Brooke's feet.

"we need to end this" Peyton stated.

"you're the one who started it" Brooke said.

"okay look, I know I said I loved Lucas, but then I said I didn't but I was just-"

"-trying not to hurt me?" Brooke finished. "it's kind of late for that."

"okay Brooke, I know what I said, and I know everything's been so screwed up lately, and most of it is probably because of me. But you know I wouldn't go this far unless he really meant something to me. If it were any other guy it would be hoes over bros, just as promised. But Lucas, you know him, he's perfect because he is always there to save me. When I'm alone, he's there for me, just for no reason. When I need him, and can't talk to you for some reason, he shows up. I've lost so many people in my life and you know that, everyone knows that. So far he's the only person not to leave me in my life"

"what about me?" Brooke asked.

"you left me when you found Lucas."

"that's not true" Brooke said angrily as she swung her legs over the side of the bench to sit in the same position as Peyton.

"isn't it? When I got shot, and Keith died, who did you go to? When I said I was in love with Lucas, where did you go? I'll tell you, you are always going to him instead of me"

"that is not fair! I went to Lucas because he was grieving, Keith actually died, you were in the hospital. And you wouldn't talk to me if I stole your boyfriend either, so don't even try that"

"okay it's true, but think about it this way. When I told Lucas I loved him and he didn't feel the same way, he was still there for me! That is the difference between you and me"

Brooke sat there for a moment in silence. "do you really love him?" she asked barely above a whisper.

"yeah… I do" Peyton whispered back.

"alright"

"alright?"

"if he loves you and you love him, there's nothing I can do to stop you, despite how I feel."

"so you're okay with this?"

"no" Brooke said making Peyton instantly frown. "but I think one day… I will be. I'm not saying that day is any time soon, but it will come"

"I'm sorry" Peyton said randomly.

"for what?"

"the whole wanting to kill your self. I know it had a lot to do with me and Luke. If I had known it would have gone that far I would have been there for you in a heart beat" Peyton said. "can I see…?" Peyton asked as she lightly grabbed Brooke's arm. Since Brooke didn't protest she pushed the sleeve half way up Brooke's arm to reveal the different scars. Peyton ran her fingers over the bumps and looked up at Brooke.

"please, don't ever do this again. It scares me" Peyton whispered. "I'm just scared to lose you Brooke."

"you're never going to lose me again" Brooke said. The two girls were once again friends, but at this point they weren't ready for a hug. So they didn't.

_With Rachel and Haley…_

"so are you okay?" Haley asked Rachel.

"yes Haley I'm great!" Rachel said voice dripping with sarcasm. "I told everyone I hate who I am and I just broke up with my suicidal girlfriend. I'm just dandy"

"hey, none of this has been easy on any of us"

"yeah… I just wish I hadn't taken those notes. All of this is really screwed up."

"I can't believe Brooke tried to kill her self" Haley whispered.

"I can't believe you slept with Lucas… was it good?"

"Rachel!" Haley said slapping Rachel in the arm.

"what? I've always wanted to know… I mean he is 6 feet tall and has some pretty big shoes if you know what I mean"

"do you think every thing's going to be okay when we get out of here?" Haley asked.

"I don't know" Rachel said going back to serious. "this stuff is pretty real…"

"I think all of this stuff is going to change us. I mean things like suicide, love, self hatred and sex is not something you come across everyday. Well maybe you and sex… but that's a different story" Haley said trying to joke around, but she noticed Rachel wasn't laughing, actually she was looking pretty hurt.

"Rachel, I'm sorry… I forgot about…"

"it's alright… I'm going to have to learn how to deal with everything if I want to change right?"

"right" Haley whispered.

"look I'm tired of looking at these and thinking about them" Rachel said holding up the notes. "they only bring bad memories"

"so what are we going to do?" Haley asked.

Haley and Rachel walked back in the room just as Brooke was saying "you're never going to lose me again".

Rachel held the four pieces of paper in her hand and turned to face everyone "we're going to end this once and for all"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Rachel held the four pieces of paper in her hand and turned to face everyone "we're going to end this once and for all"

"how?" Peyton asked from her spot.

"with this" Rachel said as she pulled out a lighter. All four girls walked to the middle of the room after Rachel had taken the batteries out of the smoke alarm. They grabbed the metal garbage bin and lit the four pieces of paper on fire and put them in the trash. They watched as their secrets that could have possibly ruined their lives, went up in smoke.

"suicidal" Brooke said not even looking up at any of the other girls.

"what?" Peyton asked.

"My scarlet letter, S… it stands for suicidal" Brooke said still staring at the flames.

"F for fake" Rachel said plainly.

"H for human" Haley said.

"B for backstabber" Peyton finally said.

Soon the fire was nearly out and all that was left was smoke still rising from the ashes. "I guess that's it" Peyton said.

"it's over…" Brooke added.

"good, because this is a day I don't want to remember" Haley said.

Just as the fire was finally out and the girls had successfully stopped all the smoke they heard the door to the change room creak open.

"hello?" Lucas' voice came from the door way.

"Lucas?" Haley asked. Soon Lucas and Nathan walked through the second door and into the big change room.

"why does it smell like smoke in here?" Nathan asked.

"Peyton… did you light Rachel on fire again?" Lucas asked jokingly.

"nah… I wouldn't do that" Peyton said honestly as she looked over at Rachel. "I see her in a different way now"

"really?" Lucas asked in shock. The four girls looked around at each other and realized they were all different. In some way, they had all changed. All for the good.

"you guys must have been stuck in here forever" Nathan said.

"yeah, what time is it?" Brooke asked coming back to reality.

"almost 8:00" Nathan answered.

"come on, let's get you guys out of here" Lucas said. Everyone started gathering their things but Brooke stopped them for a second.

"can you guys give us a minute?" Brooke asked as she looked over at Nathan and Lucas. They nodded and waited outside the change room.

"none of this information leaves this room tonight" Brooke said staring the girls down. "what happens in here stays in here forever. I know all of this means a lot to you guys so we're all in this together, got it?"

"got it" they all replied at once. Brooke held the door open as they all walked out of the change room and out of the building.

Peyton's POV:

After our little session in the change room I think everyone's changed more than just their clothes. Today I learned more about my best friend than I could have imagined. But I also learned that she's willing to let her feelings of anger or hatred go, for someone else's happiness. And for this I am so grateful. Maybe, just maybe there is a world where I can be with Lucas, and Brooke can be my best friend. It's something we have to work at, but I think that world does exist.

Haley's POV:

Today I told everyone how I slept with Lucas, and given the circumstances everyone was pretty okay with it. But today I finally learned that going for my dreams wasn't terrible. Having the friends that I did made it better. I think maybe one day I could have my dream, with Nathan, it'll be a long road getting there, but it's possible.

Rachel's POV:

Today, I have a girlfriend, I was happy… on the outside… and the world was good. I finally admitted to myself today, that I don't like me very much, nor do a lot of other people. So from now on, I'm going to change. It definitely won't be easy, because I will still be a bitch in the end. But maybe I'll be less of a bitch and more of a better person. I think with the help of my newly formed semi-friends and my new ex-girlfriend… things will be alright.

Brooke's POV:

Today we came to this school as people who couldn't stand each other. Never would we have thought that a few hours together could change us all as much as it did. We all had something we were hiding from each other and it all came out tonight. I ended up letting go of Lucas, breaking up with Rachel, gaining my best friend back, and thanks to this night I'm probably going to die of old age instead of loss of blood. It was these few hours we spent together that possibly saved my life. Today, we leave this school as four friends. We may not be the best of friends, but our friendships have gotten stronger in a way that is impossible to comprehend. Today is the day that changed us all.

The end

**Okay, i just wanted to say thanks for reading this story, i'm not quite sure what i was trying to prove writing this whole thing. So be honest and let me know what you think. What is meaningful or meaningless... don't worry about hurting my feelings - i can take it.**


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